Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku at a past event. Photo/HandoutPublic Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has explained why he backtracked on his push for the division of the larger Mt Kenya region into Mt Kenya East and West zones.
For months, Ruku had been at the forefront of the push, arguing that Mt Kenya East, comprising Meru, Embu, and Tharaka Nithi counties, would support the re-election of President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking in an interview with a local radio station on Tuesday, Ruku said he abandoned the push after meeting elders from the region, who agreed to recognise Deputy President Kithure Kindiki as its spokesperson and senior-most political leader.
“The key elders had not acknowledged Kindiki as the leader of the Mt Kenya region, who is in government holding a very senior position,” Ruku said.
“After doing my own analysis, I found that we were not being treated fairly as Mt Kenya East.”
“However, when we sat down with Wazees, they agreed to come together and recognise Kindiki as the region’s leader, who will be representing its political interests in the government,” he said.
Ruku’s remarks came after Kindiki was crowned Mt Kenya’s political spokesperson on September 19, 2026, during a cultural ceremony held at Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu County.
The elders who attended the ceremony were drawn from the Gikuyu, Aembu and Ameru communities.
Despite controversy surrounding whether Kindiki was properly installed as the region’s political kingpin, following the absence of several leaders from Central Kenya, Ruku said the elders unanimously agreed to hand the leadership mantle to the Deputy President.
Apart from Ruku, Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo and a handful of other leaders, many political leaders from Mt Kenya West counties, including Kiambu, did not attend the ceremony.
“Before Kindiki was handed the mantle, it was being held by former President Uhuru Kenyatta. The elders agreed to conduct all the rituals associated with handing the mantle from one person to the other,” Ruku said.
Ruku also praised the Kenya Kwanza administration, saying large parts of Mt Kenya East had benefited from tarmacked roads during President Ruto’s administration.
He said the development projects had demonstrated the government’s commitment to addressing infrastructure needs in the region.
Ruku’s shift marks a departure from his earlier campaign for the formal recognition of Mt Kenya East as a distinct political bloc, with the three counties expected to chart their own political path ahead of the 2027 elections.
